The Secrets of the Alchemist
by Piklink
Summary: What happens to Fiona and Hewie after the leave the castle? Find out here in this new fanmade story!
1. Fiona's memories

**Disclaimer:I do NOT in any way own Haunting Ground or its characters. This story is merely fan made.**

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Haunting Ground 2: The Secrets of the Alchemist

Haunting Ground 2: The Secrets of the Alchemist

By Piklink

The wind, the flapping of bat wings, and her friend's paw steps were the only sounds that pressed Fiona Belli's ears as she walked through the dark forest. She knew that on the other side of this forest was normal society. She was determined to reach it, she had to. She was getting hungry and tired, and it was still as black as pitch. Feeling that it would be easier for them, she decided to find a place to rest. As she walked off the path, her feet hurt like hell. She wished that she still had her boots, but they were lost when Riccardo took her to the Water Tower. Not only that, but the wind kept blowing her hair in her face, since she didn't have it in a pony tail anymore. Fortunately, just when she was getting desperate, she found a clean-looking river flowing along a bank of rocks. Sighing with slight relief, she knelt down, and took a drink. Her white friend also stopped to lap up the water with his long tongue.

After quenching her thirst, Fiona sat down in the grass to rest and her friend laid down right next to her. She turned her head to look at the white German Shepard she had bonded with over the past couple nights. His name was Hewie. She scratched his ears and Hewie wagged his tail in affection. Fiona had found him tied to a tree by a piece of wire. She freed him and told him to get out of the castle, but he arrived just in time to save her from danger. Since then, the two looked after one another and formed a tight bond. She didn't know exactly where he came from, but she was going to make sure she gave him a good home and take good care of him.

For some reason, this thought brought her mind back to the adventure she and Hewie had in the castle. She had woken up in the castle, not knowing how she got there, and soon discovered that her parents were dead from a car crash. She also learned that the castle belonged to her family and that she was a sole surviving heir. After seeing the castle, however, she had no intention of keeping it. In fact, once she got back to a normal life, she will have the place cleared out of its creepy experiments and sell it to someone who wouldn't use it for such evil purposes. Well, perhaps not…

She thought about Debilitas, the only surviving of her four stalkers. He was a giant of a man with enormous strength and endurance. However, he had the mind of a child and therefore, he liked to play with dolls and whatnot. Apparently, he also thought Fiona was a doll and chased her because he wanted to play with her. He never really meant any harm, but he didn't think about her human feelings, so he treated her like a doll. Only when Fiona caused a chandelier to fall on him did he realize that Fiona was a human being and had to be respected. With that, he never bothered her again. The last time Fiona saw him was when she was escaping from the castle. He came out of the castle with a pair of hedge clippers, and after staring at eachother in an awkward silence, he bowed to her, to show that he didn't mean harm anymore. With that, Fiona and Hewie escaped the castle, leaving Debilitas to tend to the castle's gardens by himself. Fiona was worried that people might want to experiment on Debilitas or bother him, so maybe she shouldn't sell the place. She'd have to think about it.

Her thoughts then turned to Daniella, the maid of the castle. She was the one who gave Fiona her medieval gothic cloths. Fiona eventually found out that Daniella was a humonculus; a man-made human, like Debilitas. However, unlike Debilitas, she was emotionless, beautiful, and "perfect". Daniella also had the inability to taste, experience pleasure, or feel pain. After defeating Debilitas, Daniella served Fiona some soup, which was delicious, but Daniella's speaking to Fiona made her uncomfortable and so she abandoned the meal. However, Daniella apparently put sleeping drugs in her soup, because Fiona suddenly felt extremely weak and rested in bed. After shattering a window and grabbing a large glass shard, Daniella began to chase Fiona. Daniella apparently wanted her "Azoth", which she said would make her whole and "complete." Fiona and Hewie ended up leaving the castle and entered Belli Mansion, a mansion connected to the castle. Eventually, Daniella cornered the two in a room with a large glass dome. After a tense fight, Fiona caused a mirror to appear beneath Daniella, who screamed at an extreme pitch at the sight of her reflection. The scream caused the glass dome to shatter and a giant shard pierced Daniella through the chest, thus killing her. Fiona couldn't help noticing Daniella smiling when she died. She felt sorry for both Debilitas and Daniella, especially Daniella, because she didn't deserve the life she had gotten: to be a lifeless mannequin, a walking, talking doll.

Fiona felt no sympathy whatsoever for her other two pursuers, however. Riccardo was a hooded man who had kept his face hidden most of the time. He carried a handgun, and claimed to be a great alchemist. He also wanted Fiona for her Azoth. Though she didn't completely understand what it was, Azoth was apparently an alchemic term for the essence of life, and her fourth pursuer claimed that alchemists had to ability to convert it into power. Riccardo probably frightened Fiona most of all, because, to her horror, he wanted to impregnate her so that he can be reborn with her Azoth, making him immortal. In the forest, Hewie tried to go after him, but Riccardo shot him in the leg. Fiona managed to find him and heal him somewhat. However, Riccardo showed up and revealed himself to be a clone of her father, Ugo. Fiona fainted and he brought her to a huge water tower. Hewie, however, managed to recover and rescued her. At the top of the tower, the two engaged in a fight with Riccardo and ultimately, knocked him off the tower to his doom.

Lorenzo was their final stalker. His full name was Aureolus Lorenzo Belli. He, too, was a great alchemist, more so than Riccardo. In fact, he created both Riccardo and Ugo. He was an extremely old man who had helped Fiona throughout the adventure to lure her closer to him. He finally got his chance, so therefore he rid himself if his wheelchair and chased her by crawling on the ground. Eventually, Fiona caused him to get crushed by a crushing machine. However, he returned as a much younger man, showing the power alchemy gave him. In addition to being younger, he also gained a few spells, such as creating fire and teleportation. Fiona and Hewie managed to knock him into a pit of lava. However, he returned one final time as a flaming skeleton and chased the two one last time. He eventually burned to death for good.

As Fiona ran all of this through her mind, she realized that although her parents were gone, she was still lucky. Not many 18-year-old girls could survive an experience like that. Still, she wouldn't have survived if not for Hewie. Everybody needs help from animals sometimes. However, all the bad memories made Fiona wish very much that it didn't have to cost the lives of her parents. It would take a while to get over this… But at least she's still not alone. She leaned over and gave Hewie a hug. Then she laid down on the ground and soon fell fast asleep.

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**I figured I'd start the game with a summary of the game's plot. I hope you liked it. Next, I'm gonna tell Hewie's story of his PoV.**


	2. Hewie's thoughts

**Ok, on to Hewie's memories of the adventure.  It's shorter than Fiona's, but still interesting.  **

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Hewie watched as Fiona went to sleep.  He wanted to go to sleep, but he wanted to make sure nobody would attack them before he did.  As he watched over Fiona, he thought back to the early parts of his life, when he was a happy puppy being cared for by Riccardo.  He remembered being born in the garden outside the castle.  But his parents were nowhere to be found.  He would've died if Riccardo hadn't found him.  He cared for him like a loving owner. 

However, about three years later, Riccardo started to change.  Hewie overheard him on the phone once, and although he didn't understand much, it still made Riccardo angry:

"Hello?  Yes, this is he.  You what?!  Old man, are you serious?!  You can't!  We've been serving you ever since you created us and now you're just tossing us aside?!  'Something better'?  What do you mean, 'something better'?  Better than the Godstone? How're you going to find them?  No, you won't get away with this, old man!  I'll find you!  I'll find them before you do!  The Azoth is mine now!"   

  Ever since then, he became meaner to Hewie, and started speaking harshly to him.  Recently, he even started beating him and making him miserable, barely feeding him and leaving him all alone in the castle.  Daniella and Debilitas didn't help either; they just got angry if he got too close to him.  Then, Hewie found something in an old room in Belli Mansion.  They were pleasant-smelling stones.  Hewie decided to have them for himself, so he took them and buried them outside.  Unfortunately, this was the last straw for Riccardo.  He painfully dragged him to the garden outside the castle and locked him in a cage.  Soon, however, Hewie managed to dig himself out and tried to find a way to escape the castle.  The master he knew and loved had somehow become a monster, and he was gonna torture him until he died.  He had to escape.  He tried to find food in the stone cellar, but when Debilitas showed up to cut some meat, he had to hide. 

It was there where he first met Fiona, though not officially.  When she escaped from her cell, he jumped from under the table and ran up the stairs.  He spent some time trying to find an escape route, but when he ran into Riccardo in a guest bedroom, he grabbed him and ragged him roughly to the old tree in the garden, where he tied him to it with a piece of wire and left him to die.  That was when he officially met Fiona.  She freed him and selflessly told him to get out of the castle.  He started to do that, but changed his mind and arrived back in the bedroom just in time to save her from Debilitas.  And the rest is history.

            Although Hewie didn't have as much history as Fiona, it was still a sad one.  His once loving master had turned into a monster, and later, he was forced to kill him.  But looking back, even when his master cared for him, he realized that he still didn't seem to care for him as much as Fiona does.  Hewie looked at Fiona again and remembered how she saved him and he decided to repay her.  It wasn't until they defeated Debilitas when he started to really care for her.  At first, he was just repaying a dept, but then another reason overtook that first reason completely.  When Riccardo shot him in the woods, he felt that maybe someone wouldn't come for him, but he was wrong.  Fiona came for him and he realized that she really did care for him.  While Fiona healed him, he sensed Riccardo coming.  Fiona apparently heard him too, and she ran off, but Hewie understood.  She ran off to lure Riccardo away from him.  Therefore, he willed himself to recover and tough it out.  It was hard, but eventually he could stand upright and walk.  He tracked Fiona down by using her scent and swam his way into the water tower.  There, he reunited with his best friend, and got revenge on his old master. 

            After being through so much, he was glad to be away from that castle, and happy that he found a new friend, one that would never hurt him or abandon him.  These were his last conscious thoughts as he drifted off to sleep next to his new friend… 

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**Again, it's short, but it was hard to come up with original ideas for this.  In the next chapter, there will be more dialogue, so don't worry about that**.       


	3. Fiona and Hewie's Salvation

**Ok, here's chapter 3. I hope it's good; I introduced a couple new characters.**

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Fiona woke up a few hours later to Hewie licking her face. She laughed lightly and gently pushed his head away. She rubbed her eyes and blinked rapidly at the morning sun. She felt very relieved: the morning sun gave her new hope. She slowly got to her feet and said "good morning" to Hewie. After taking another drink at the river, she and Hewie found the path and set off again. It was much easier traveling in the morning; Fiona even had the feeling that she would finally find her salvation at last. They traveled for what felt like a couple hours, seeing no human life, but hopeful signs on it, like NO TRESPASSING signs and a bit of trash. Eventually, she came to a sign that said, "Safeguard Diner, open 24-7." Fiona felt excited that she would finally find a piece of society for the first time since her parents died. She rushed down the trail, with Hewie at her heels. It wasn't long before she came upon a medium-sized building that said, "Safeguard Diner, where the lost souls find their salvation." This sounded exactly like what Fiona needed, so she pushed open the door and walked inside with Hewie.

It was nearly empty, but this didn't concern Fiona, for she knew it was still a little early. Her good feeling went away, however, when she heard an angry voice: "Hey, you! No dogs allowed in my restaurant!" A bald, angry-looking old man with a nametag saying "Kevin Newman" came bounding up to her. "Umm, I'm sorry, sir," said Fiona. "But I really need to get some help…or some food at least."

"You got money?"

"No, sir, but-!"

"No money, no service, sister. Get out, and take that mutt with you."

"But sir, please-!"

"I said get out! Get out, and don't come back until you either get money, or lose that mutt!"

Now Fiona was angry, but there was nothing she could do. This place apparently practiced false advertising. With a frustrated sigh, she turned to leave, Hewie whining at her heels, but stopped when a new voice spoke.

"Uncle?"

A young man about Fiona's age appeared next to the old man. Fiona couldn't help noticing that he was quite handsome.

"Uncle, what's going on here?"

"Mark! Get back to the kitchens, the floors need cleaning!"

"The floors are clean! And what are you doing yelling at this girl? She and her dog look starving!"

"They don't have money, and besides, dogs are not allowed in here!"

"What?! You're turning them away just for that?! They look like they've been traveling for days! We should help them!"

"Keep up that attitude, Mark, and you'll be shipped back to your parents!"

"You can't do that, I'm making my own life now! The only reason I took this job is to help myself through college! Besides, you wouldn't dare fire me; your restaurant would be nothing without me!"

The boy named Mark turned to Fiona and said, "I'm very sorry about my uncle here. Come right in and take a seat, miss. You can bring your dog, but make sure he behaves."

"Thank you very much," said Fiona graciously. Mark's uncle looked at the three angrily, then walked back into the kitchens. Fiona stepped inside with Hewie behind her. Mark led her to a random empty table and she sat down. Hewie laid down under the table. Mark gave her a menu and said, "You've obviously been through a lot. Tell you what, I'll pay for this time and you can pay me back when you can, ok?"

"Really? Oh, thank you, that's really nice of you." Mark smiled.

"No problem. What'll it be?" Fiona looked at the menu for a minute and said, "I think I'll have some pancakes with syrup. What about you, Hewie?" she asked playfully. Hewie barked, and to Fiona's amazement, placed his paw on the meats section. Fiona and Mark looked at him, stunned, for a minute, then Fiona said, "I guess he's having some steak."

"Ok, your food will be here before you know it!"

**I know it might not be much, but I'll put more interesting things in future chapters, so keep your story alerts on!**


	4. Fiona's new friend

**Ok, here's chapter 4! Yes, I know it's a little late. To evilinsanity, I didn't really think about the country it took place in, I just went ahead and wrote the story. I'm probably gonna say that this takes place in a fictional town in Switzerland where people mostly speak English.**

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Hewie barked very happily as Mark put a large bowl of meat in front of him. He began to eat with gusto. Fiona quietly but happily ate her pancakes. Mark sat down in front of Fiona and they began to talk. He listened to them talk. They were acting as though he couldn't understand them. But he could understand every word. Well, almost every word. But still, though Fiona knew he was quite smart, she didn't know how smart he really was. Although, of course, he wasn't as smart as a human, he could understand most human words and recently, he even started to teach himself how to read. Yes, some animals were a lot smarter than the humans gave them credit for, but they usually try to hide this. As Hewie listened to their conversation, he couldn't help noticing that Fiona was getting a little flustered. Well, it sounded to him like she was quite taken by this human. He gave a quiet doggy laugh before resuming his meal.

"So, Fiona, what brings you here? Why do you and your dog look like you've been traveling for days?" inquired Mark.

"Well, it's a long story, and it's an unbelievable one. I'm not sure you'll believe it."

"Oh, come off it, I'll believe it! Go on, tell me."

"Oh…alright."

She went to tell him everything that happened the past few days. He listened intently and was shocked at all the right moments. When she finished her story, he remained silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "Is all of this actually true?"

"Yes, it is! I know it sounds weird, but please believe me, it's true! My parents are dead, I spent the past couple nights in a freakish nightmare, and now I really need help!"

Mark stared intently at her, then said, "Well, I'm not sure if I believe the entire story, especially the parts are homunculi and alchemy, but it's obvious that you really need help. So, I'll help you as best as I can."

"Really?! Oh, thank you so much! In fact, after I find a place to stay, maybe I can look up my family history on the Internet and prove it to you. But for now, I just want to focus on figuring out what to do next."

"Well, you look like you need a shower and some new cloths. I can bring you to my place and you can take a shower. Then I can drive you down to a store so you can buy some cloths."

"Thank you so much! I'm lucky to have met someone like you."

"Heh, no problem. Finish your pancakes and we can get going."

"What about the restaurant?"

"Oh, I leave without telling my uncle about half the time. He won't notice."

Fiona and Hewie finished their meals and climbed into Mark's car. After a short drive, they finally reached a large city. As they drove, Mark explained how he went to a university on the edge of the city. The university is unique in the country, as it allows pets there. For each dorm on the ground floor that has a pet, there is a small yard where they are free to roam. In addition, there's also a pet day care where students can leave their pets during their classes. Mark himself had a dog who lived there with him. Fiona thought about it. Her old college didn't allow pets, and she definitely wasn't getting rid of Hewie. She never made any new friends at her college, seeing as she hasn't been there for very long. Perhaps this college would still be able to take her in. But, of course, she had to check it out some more before she made a decision. Soon, they pulled up to a foreign cloths store and walked inside.

While Hewie took a nap in the car, Fiona and Mark walked into the cloths store. They were greeted by a woman in her thirties wearing a casual uniform. "Hello!" she said in a thick Swedish accent. "Welcome to my store! What can I do for- Oh my!" She said as she looked surprised. "You…you look like that girl in the newspaper! The one that went missing!" Fiona gasped. The woman took went over to the register and picked up the English version of the day's newspaper. Fiona and Mark followed her and took the paper from her. The paper showed a picture of herself below the headlines:

Belli Family Discovered Dead in Car Accident! Belli Daughter Gone Missing!

The paper told about how Fiona's parents were found dead in the car wreckage and how Fiona herself was missing. A search party was sent into the area to look for her. "They're looking for you everywhere! I'm so glad you're ok!" said the woman. Fiona turned to Mark and said, "I'm not sure if I'm ready to face the media yet." Mark nodded. "Yeah, I say that for now, you should keep a low profile until you're ready." They requested that the woman keep her presence a secret. The woman bowed, promising to do just that. And with that, Fiona began to pick out her new cloths.

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**This may not be much, but in a few more chapters, the story will live up to its title.**


	5. New College and first doggy crush?

**Sorry for the wait! Chapter 5 is now here! Now, this chapter takes place about a month later. The next update will take place several months later, so it will be interesting!**

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Fiona looked around her new room. She couldn't believe she actually managed to get into this new college. It seemed so long ago that she escaped the castle, yet it's only been a month. After taking a shower at Mark's house and trying on her new cloths, she had decided that she wanted to take a look at Mark's college. So Mark took her there and gave her a tour. She even spoke with the headmaster, a plump, yet kind man who, after looking at her applications (via her old college's website), he decided to accept her late entry. The headmaster also sympathized her for the death of her parents' death, so he even threw in freshman year free. Fiona was very grateful, and she made a mental note to make some money for next year. She would need to get a job, but perhaps she could start by selling the alchemy jewelry/equipment she found/made during her adventure. At least, the inferior ones. She will always keep the Alchemist Earrings, Fairy Earrings, Silver Boots, and Diamond Choker though, for they were the most useful and she might need them again someday. As the alchemic medicine and pills she made, she would keep those in the medicine cabinet in her bathroom. Luckily, she had a dorm room on the ground floor, which meant that just outside her window was a small yard where Hewie could hang out if he wanted. Plus, he had a comfortable bed in the corner of the room, although he sometimes chose to cuddle up with Fiona in her bed.

Today, November 5th, was her first day of class. Fiona awoke early that morning to find Hewie licking her face. She laughed and gently pushed him away, saying, "Ok, ok, Hewie, I'm up!" By the time she had showered and dressed, there was a knock on the door. She opened it to see Mark. "Hey Mark!"

"Good morning Fiona. You ready for class?"

"Just about, I just need to eat breakfast."

"Cool, I'll join you."

The two sat down while Fiona placed some waffles in the toaster. Hewie greeted Mark enthusiastically; he still remembered the wonderful meal he got at the diner. Mark laughed. "Hey, big guy! How're you?" Hewie barked in response. Mark laughed again and said, "He must smell my dog, Sophie. I'm going to drop her off at the pet care for the day, which you should do for Hewie too."

"Sure, ok." She turned to Hewie and said, "Did you hear that Hewie? You get to spend the day with other dogs! How does that sound?" Hewie barked happily. Fiona smiled.

After breakfast, the three went out the door. Mark told Fiona to go ahead, for he needed to go get Sophie. He promised to meet Fiona at the pet care. Ten minutes later, she arrived at the pet care. Needless to say, there were dogs everywhere being dropped of by their masters. Fiona registered Hewie into the care and knelt down to hug Hewie. "Now Hewie, be a good boy. I'll be back in a few hours, ok?" Hewie understood perfectly and barked in response.

Hewie looked around the pet care, hoping to make a new friend or tow. He loved his human very much, of course, but he also needed at least one friend of his own kind. Hewie's thoughts then turned to Mark. He seemed very nice, and he was happy for Fiona for making a new friend. For some reason, Hewie thought he smelled a sort of seductive scent on him, something doglike. Speaking of seductive, Hewie could hardly fail to sense Fiona's slightly faster breathing and increased temperature whenever Mark was around. Hewie laughed silently at this thought. However, when he turned around, he felt his heart skip several beats.

Mark had shown up, and at his heels was the most gorgeous Black Lab he had ever seen. She had very soft-looking black fur (obviously) and she had the same seductive scent Mark had on him in Fiona's room. He suddenly felt very shy and hid behind Fiona's legs. Mark registered Sophie and knelt down, saying to be a good girl. Sophie gave a higher-pitched bark, which translated to, "Of course Mark, see you later!" Fiona suddenly noticed Hewie hiding behind her legs. She laughed and said, "Oh c'mon, Hewie, don't be shy. Go say hello!" She pushed him towards Sophie. Hewie panicked. What, was she trying to kill him? Sophie looked at him with a friendly face, but Hewie was too nervous. He'd never talked to girl dogs before! With a yelp, he ran away, stopping first to briefly lick Fiona's hand goodbye, then taking off again. The humans and Sophie looked puzzled.

After Fiona and Mark left, Hewie peeked out from his hiding spot: a pile of dog toys. Sophie was on the other side of the room, talking to some other girl dogs. She was so pretty…but what was he going to do? Being raised by Riccardo, he'd never talked to other dogs, let alone girl dogs. "Hey man, you new?" Hewie looked to his right. Standing there was a black and white Shih Tzu. "Yeah, I'm new." Hewie said.

"So am I. My human enrolled here a couple months ago. So far, I've never even had one friend."

"Well, nice to meet you. My name's Hewie."

"Well met, Hewie, I'm Checkers."

"Checkers?"

"Yeah, you know, for my black and white coloring."

"Isn't that chess?"

"I don't know, my human's mom named me, not him."

"Ah…"

"Yeah. So, why are you hiding?"

"Umm, no reason, I just like toys."

"As much as I agree with you, I don't think that's the reason. I noticed you staring at that cute-looking Black Lab over there."

"Alright, fine, I'm hiding from her. She's the first girl dog I've ever met, and frankly, I have no idea what to do?"

"Never met another girl dog? What, did you live in a castle in the middle of nowhere?"

"Yeah, point?"

"…Oh, I see. Alright, listen up, Hewie, let me give you a few tips…"

Meanwhile, Fiona was walking with Mark to her first class: Chemistry. "Great, just what I need. More chemistry. As if my family history didn't have enough…" thought Fiona. "Oh well…at least I have Hewie and Mark to look after me." Fiona's thought then turned to her parents. She wondered how Riccardo managed to find them, seeing as they didn't have Internet and their TVs didn't seem to work. It was a mystery that would probably remain raveled forever. Oh well, at least he was dead now. Hewie got revenge on his old master, and Fiona avenged her parents. That reminded her, she still needed to look up her family history online. She made a mental note to do that after picking up Hewie…

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Whoa, looks like Hewie has a first crush! We'll see what happens with that in future chapters! Plus, I'll also introduce a couple more new friends for Fiona.


	6. Family History

**Wow, I'm soooooo sorry people! I know I haven't updated in over two weeks. I was busy, lazy, or experiencing writer's block. I'll make sure the next update gets here much faster!**

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That afternoon, after their classes, Fiona and Mark walked down the hallway towards the pet care. Fiona was surprised at how easy chemistry was for her. Maybe her family genes were finally kicking in. That reminded her, she still needed to check out her family history on the web. She'd do that as soon as she got back. She then turned her head and looked at Mark. They've only known each other for a month, and he had already done so much for her. She was so grateful, and she also felt something else. Something warm and pleasant in her chest area whenever he was around. After looking inside herself, she realized that she had a slight crush on him. She wondered if he felt the same. Ah, if only she had someone to talk to about it. Mark has her only human friend, and doubted Hewie could give her advice. Mark looked at her and caught her staring. Fiona blushed and quickly looked away. "Crap, that was a bad move," she thought. "I wish I had someone to talk to about this…"

Hewie greeted Fiona with a wagging tail. Hewie barked and lead Fiona to his new friend, Checkers. Fiona petted Checkers, then turned to meet his owner: A young man shorter than her, with black hair and glasses. The boy introduced himself as Rick. While the humans talked, Hewie and Checkers turned to one another. "So," said Hewie. "So, I can get into your human's dorm through the window?"

"Yup. It's pretty low, and once you get inside, you can help me out and we'll get down to work on Operation "Sneak into Mark's dorm to find out what Sophie is like."

"…Seriously, we couldn't have come up with a better name?"

"We're dogs. We didn't even name ourselves."

"Point well taken."

"Anyway, once your human is gone, climb out your window and walk to your left past four windows. The fifth one after that should be open, so you should crawl through that."

"Alright then, I'll see you tonight."

Yes, Hewie and Checkers decided to find out what Sophie is like so Hewie can try and win her over. Excited for the plan, he went with Fiona back to their dorm. Fortunately, because it had been her first day, she had no homework, so she was planning to split the night. Half the evening she would spend with Mark, Rick, and a girl who was friends with Mark. The other half, she would spend with Hewie. Oh, and of course, look up her family history.

Fiona said goodbye to her friends and entered her dorm room with Hewie. Hewie flopped onto the bed while Fiona went to her laptop. She looked up "Aureolus Belli." She scrolled thorugh some websites, but most of it came up with crap. Finally, though, buried under tons of hits, she found an old, forgotten website that was apparently barely running. She scrolled through the website and finally found an article that looked promising:

"Aureolus Belli was, perhaps, the greatest alchemist who ever lived. He was born in the 1400s and grew up mostly poor. His parents abandoned him in the middle of a dark alley. Fortune struck him when he came across a librarian who took him in. There, he read many, many books and gained great knowledge. He studied the great secrets of alchemy. Eventually, he left the library and started a laboratory to continue his studies. He also joined forces with other alchemists to learn their secrets. Legend has it that he murdered them once they taught him everything they knew. He later built an amazing castle in the middle of a forgotten wood in Switzerland. There, he continued his research and experiments for many years. However, when he was starting to grow old, he realized that there was no one to continue his research for eternal life. It was that moment he worked hard to clone himself. Finally, at the edge of his life, he managed to do it. He created a perfect clone of himself. In order to distinguish his clone from himself, he gave him a middle name, for he himself didn't have one. The clone's name was Aureolus Mario Belli.

According to legend, this clone continued his work for many years. Once the clone got old, he created another clone and gave him a different middle name. This continued for generations right down to the present. It is unconfirmed, but the rumor is that the current Aureolus Belli is named Lorenzo. Further rumor says that he created two clones: Aureolus Riccardo Belli and Aureolus Ugo Belli. By creating these two clones, Lorenzo had done something none of the other Bellis had managed to do: create the essence of life, Azoth. However, only Ugo got the true Azoth, while Riccardo only got a weak, almost worthless Azoth. Lorenzo was planning on stealing Ugo's Azoth for himself, but Ugo learned of his plans and ran away before he got the chance. Legends say that Ugo started a family and that they are still alive today. Research is still being done on this mater…"

Fiona stared at the screen. So this was her family history… She came from a generation of alchemists? Unfortunately, the website didn't have as much as she hoped. She checked the date of when it was last updated. It was last updated twelve years ago. Her father must've lied low for a few years and the website seemed to have given up the search. It looked quite basic and old. Oh well, at least she knew a summary of her family history.

Satisfied for the time being, she turned to Hewie, who was napping on her bed, and said, "C'mon, Hewie! Let's go play fetch!" Hewie barked happily and ran after the ball Fiona threw.

Hewie had lots of fun playing fetch with Fiona that night. He wished that she could give him advice on girl dogs. Unfortunately, it was one thing his loving human could not help him with. He thought about his plans with Checkers tonight. He sure hoped Checkers knew what he was doing, because he didn't want to get caught and give a bad impression to Sophie. Man, to think a month and a half ago, he was worrying about escaping a 3-year-old trapped in a giant's body, a man-made psychopathic maid, his crazed ex-master, and his crazed ex-master's creator. Now, he's worrying about a girl. Such a life is the life of a dog…

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**Again, I'm so sorry for the wait! The next chapter will focus on Hewie and Checkers' mission. Another chapter or two, and the adventure part will begin!**


	7. Hmmm

Well, I've given up this story quite a while ago, but seeing as you like it so much, maybe I oughta bring it back… Can't see why not, I think I can think of a good plot now. Ok! What the heck? I'll bring this story back! I'd better start brainstorming for ideas now…


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